Bush Vetoes Minimum Wage Increase to $4.55

President Bush today vetoed legislation raising the minimum wage to $4.55 an hour, setting up a political battle with the Democratic majority in Congress.

“The President signed a minimum wage veto message” aboard Air Force One en route to Lincoln, Neb., from Wyoming, spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said.

Bush’s veto had been expected, since the Democratic-controlled House and Senate both approved legislation he had said in advance that he would not sign. Neither house approved the bill by the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto, though congressional leaders are expected to attempt to enact the bill over the President’s objections.

In his lengthy veto message, Bush said: “This bill would increase the minimum wage by an excessive amount and thus stifle the creation of new job opportunities. It would damage the employment prospects of our young people and least advantaged citizens. It would accelerate inflation. It would not help those in poverty. And thus it would fail to properly reflect the thought behind this measure: to help our lowest-paid workers.”

House Speaker Thomas S. Foley vowed to quickly ask the House to override the veto, but conceded that Bush probably will prevail in the first domestic-policy clash between the majority Democrats of Congress and Bush.

Foley and Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell said Democrats will quickly advance another minimum wage bill if Bush wins the veto fight.

The bill sent to the White House called for a $4.55 hourly minimum wage by October, 1991, while Bush offered to go to $4.25 in January, 1992.

The Administration and Congress also differ over whether employers should be able to pay newly hired workers a sub-minimum wage during a training period. Bush has said such a provision is vital to prevent massive job losses and proposed that employers be allowed to pay a sub-minimum wage to all new workers for up to six months regardless of prior work experience.

Democrats initially resisted any such provision but included in their final bill a clause allowing a sub-minimum to be paid to workers with less than two months’ work experience.